10 Things Southerners Always Have on Their Thanksgiving Table

Food is a little different down in the South. Cooks aren’t afraid of a butter, cream, or salt. Vegetables aren’t complete unless they’ve been deep-fried or stewed with pork. And spicy only begins to cover how intense flavors can get. And because Southern cuisine is so distinctive, a Thanksgiving dinner looks quite different.

Of course there’s a turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. Frankly, no Thanksgiving would be complete without those staples. But the Southern Thanksgiving table has its own traditions. You can’t walk into a Texas Thanksgiving without finding a pecan pie on the dessert table, and the only greens you’ll see below the Mason-Dixon line will be cooked low and slow with tons of ham hocks or bacon.